I absolutely love the lyrics of this song! Yes, Byrne is being a total dick, but it's part of the presentation of the material. "Be a little more selfish, it might do you some good" might be some of the best advice I've ever heard in a song. The music seems to be following the process of the lyrics- a weary sigh with some anger building beneath it and then, with that awesome scream Santiagof mentioned, the listener is just bombarded with accusations and expositions from both the music and the lyrics that kind of have to hit anyone between the ages of 16 and 25 pretty hard. Maybe Byrne forces you to relate equally to his viewpoint as singer and yours as accused, innocent listener to confuse you into a state of acceptance?
I would say that this song in its most reduced form is about "growing up" from a viewpoint we aren't as accustomed to.
I absolutely love the lyrics of this song! Yes, Byrne is being a total dick, but it's part of the presentation of the material. "Be a little more selfish, it might do you some good" might be some of the best advice I've ever heard in a song. The music seems to be following the process of the lyrics- a weary sigh with some anger building beneath it and then, with that awesome scream Santiagof mentioned, the listener is just bombarded with accusations and expositions from both the music and the lyrics that kind of have to hit anyone between the ages of 16 and 25 pretty hard. Maybe Byrne forces you to relate equally to his viewpoint as singer and yours as accused, innocent listener to confuse you into a state of acceptance? I would say that this song in its most reduced form is about "growing up" from a viewpoint we aren't as accustomed to.